Proverbs From The Message

I have read the book of Proverbs dozens of times over the years.  It is easy to read cause for the most part the chapters line up with the day of the month.  Example: today is June 26th so I read Proverbs 26.

Proverbs are profound, quick words of wisdom that help guide our thoughts and actions.  I believe Jesus, the Living Word of God, read the Proverbs and showed us what they looked like fulfilled in a life.

Today I read them from an English version of the Bible that I have never used with Proverbs before.  I usually read from the New International Version(NIV).  But today I read from a paraphrase version of Scripture, The Message(MSG).  The Message helped me see these words I have read dozens of times in a brand new way.  They jumped off the page.

Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message translation, is a biblical scholar and genius.  I highly recommend his translation of the Scriptures, especially Proverbs.  Here is a comparison of a few verses from the NIV and the MSG versions.  See how they jump.  I think so anyway.

What do you think?

What versions do you recommend?       

Proverbs 26:4
NIV Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
MSG Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool; you’ll only look foolish yourself.

Proverbs 26:17
NIV Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.
MSG You grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business

Proverbs 26:22
NIV The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
MSG Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you want junk like that in your belly?

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week- Matthew 6: 20-21

Matthew 6:20-21 
²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

^{-We are doing a gift exchange this advent season at Living Hope.   I believe in giving and I am looking forward to buying the person whose name I drew a gift.  God gave so we give.  Not only are we giving away small gifts, but we also are praying for that persona specifically in December.  So we are giving that person our material wealth, our time, and our concern.  I think that is a good thing.}

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week-Matthew 6:17-18

Matthew 6:17-18 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

-Try fasting a meal this week.  I recommend lunch Friday.  Pray the Lord's prayer and your personal prayer list during the time you would have had lunch.  And wash your face.  I do not recommend the oil part for our culture.

Living Hope's Prayer Of The Week

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week-Matthew 6:15

Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

There is a group, which I will not promote, their motto is, "We do not forgive, we do not forget."  I do not want to live like that.  Life is too short for those entanglements.  And eternity is too long to miss it.  Also, I have been forgiven so much, how can I not forgive others.  I am so unworthy, I have been treated much better than I deserve.  I guess that's how this grace thing works.

Living Hope's Verse of The Week- Matthew 6:5 7 Ways to hypocrite proof your life.

Matthew 6:5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

7 Ways to hypocrite proof your life.

1. Be humble.
2. Don't want public standing ovations.(as I post this to social media)
3. Be ready to give praise not receive it.
4. Look for the good in others.
5. Realize you have not arrived.
6. Be ready to listen.
7. "I was wrong, please forgive me" is something hypocrites do not say.

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week- Matthew 6:3-4

Matthew 6:3-4 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

-Challenge of the week:  Pick a person this week and give them something secretly.  Or at least as secret as you can.

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week- Matthew 6:2

Matthew 6:2 So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

-When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks.

-Just do it—quietly and without drawing attention to yourself.

-That is the way your God, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week- Matthew 6:1

Matthew 6:1 Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

-Doing good is, well, good.  But when we turn it into a performance, into a Netflix movie, we may get an applause but it will not be from God.

-Everyone look at me, my blog, me sermon, my gifts, my talents, my intelligence, my beauty.  It is all in 3D and HD.  

-What do I do?  It is so easy to perform.  Jesus tells us to "be careful."  Move forward humbly and cautiously.  Be Careful.

-Father forgive me when I have put on a show.  Examine my motives and give me a heart that acts right.

-Now I must go and share this post on social media, oh the irony.

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week- Matthew 5:47-48

-Matthew 5:47-48 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

-Perfect means complete, mature, grown.  In other words children and immature people love only those that are like them.  Mature Christ followers grow up and love even their enemies.

-Jesus uses the word "mercy" instead of "perfect" in his sermon on the plain in Luke 6.

Luke 6
³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

-So apparently mercy and perfection, completeness, being mature are connected.

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week- Matthew 5:46

Matthew 5:46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week- Matthew 5:40-41

Matthew 5:40-41
40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

-Just live this verse for a month and see how radical it is.

-We fight those who take our stuff, we don't give them more.

-And they better not try and force us to do anything, or it is on.

-The Jesus way is very counter cultural.

-Lord have mercy. 

Living Hope's Verse Of The Week- Matthew 5:38-39

Matthew 5:38-39 You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.